Felix Baumgartner free falls from edge of space, breaking sound barrier - The Washington Post Felix Baumgartner free falls from edge of space, breaking sound barrier The inside track on Washington politics. Be the first to know about new stories from PowerPost. Sign up to follow, and we’ll e-mail you free updates as they’re published. You’ll receive free e-mail news updates each time a new story is published. You’re all set! Skydiver Felix Baumgartner breaks sound barrier View Photos Felix Baumgartner, the 43-year-old extreme athlete from Austria, had prepared for his 23-mile free fall for years. Caption Felix Baumgartner, the 43-year-old extreme athlete from Austria, had prepared for his 23-mile free fall for years. Oct. 14, 2012 This photo provided by shows Austrian Felix Baumgartner preparing in his trailer during the final manned flight for Red Bull Stratos in Roswell, N.M. Baumgartner lifted off on Sunday in his second attempt to make a record-breaking jump from the edge of space.

Baumgartner was being transported up to 23 miles above the Earth by a balloon before launching himself into the void, aiming to become the first human to break the sound barrier in free fall. Joerg Mitter/AFP/Getty Images Wait 1 second to continue. By Emi Kolawole By Emi Kolawole October 14, 2012 Follow @emikolawole Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner fell to Earth from 24 miles up Sunday, enrapturing millions of people following a live feed of his stunt as he became the first human being to travel faster than the speed of sound without the assistance of a craft. During a four-minute, 20-second free fall, he reached a speed of Mach 1.24 or 833.9 miles per hour, according to an official with the National Aeronautic Association. The data on Baumgartner’s jump is preliminary until verified by international authorities, including those in Austria, Baumgartner’s home country. He stands to have broken three records: the highest jump from a platform, the longest free fall without a drogue parachute and the highest vertical velocity.

“These are mind-blowing numbers,” Baumgartner said at a news conference later. “When I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble, you do not think about breaking records anymore, you do not think about gaining scientific data. The only thing you want is you want to come back alive.” When asked how it felt to travel faster than the speed of sound, Baumgartner said it was “hard to describe” because he “didn’t feel it at all.” The pressurized suit operated much like a casket, protecting him against the thin air and keeping his bodily fluids from essentially boiling at the high altitude. Baumgartner, 43, completed his historic sky-dive above ­Roswell, N.M., a location chosen for its favorable weather conditions — a critical component of the high-risk mission. He was guided throughout the feat by retired Air Force Col. Joseph Kittinger, who held the previous record for highest sky-dive, for his 1960 jump from a balloon just over 19 miles up. This time, however, Kittinger’s feet were firmly planted on Earth, while he served as “Capcom,” or capsule communication, during Baumgartner’s mission.

He was the only person with direct contact with Baumgartner during his flight and eventual descent. The entire undertaking from liftoff to the moment when Baumgartner set foot on land lasted close to three hours, with the ascent taking up the bulk of the time. Cameras inside and outside of the capsule captured Baumgartner’s rise by a 550-foot tall helium balloon. The balloon rose first quickly and then more slowly as the atmosphere became thinner and the helium inside continued to expand. The ascent culminated in the nail-biting moment when he eventually squeezed out of the capsule’s open door and, after delivering brief remarks, lightly hopped into the stratosphere’s extraordinarily thin air, 128,100 feet above sea level. Baumgartner’s speech just before leaving the capsule was difficult to make out over the audio feed. During the news conference later, Baumgartner recited it again: “I said, I know the whole world is watching now, and I wish the world could see what I see. And sometimes you have to go really high to see how small you are.” On the ground, Baumgartner’s family, including his mother, Ava Baumgartner, watched.

Online, the mission team’s Web site gave followers an opportunity to watch closely as the various metrics, including altitude and cabin pressure, gradually changed. Screams of joy went up from mission control the second Baumgartner’s feet touched the ground. An attempt to complete the mission Tuesday was aborted at the last minute because of high winds. Anything less than ideal weather conditions could have torn the balloon, producing potentially fatal results, particularly if the capsule were below 4,000 feet. A number of other challenges were present during the mission, including whether Baumgartner would enter into what is called a “flat spin,” when a diver’s arms and legs spin around the torso sending dangerous amounts of blood into the head. Baumgartner said he felt as if he had entered into a flat spin briefly but gained control. One of the goals of the mission was to produce data that would aid in the development of the next generation of space suits, as well as expand scientific knowledge of the effects of high altitude and supersonic speeds on the human body. “Usually when a doctor shows up to a press conference, we’re having a bad day,” said mission medical director Jonathan Clark.

The data from Baumgartner’s jump has yet to be fully analyzed, but Clark said the data collected “is going to break incredible new ground.” Asked how he felt about his own records in the wake of Baumgartner’s achievement, Kittinger said, “Well, records were meant to be broken,” going on to say that “better champions cannot be found than Felix Baumgartner.” Baumgartner, clearly proud of what he and his team had achieved, said that he looked forward to being in Kittinger’s shoes in the future and guiding another aspiring supersonic traveler to achieve the dream of falling from the edge of space. Read more news and ideas on Ideas@Innovations and follow Kolawole at @emikolawole . national Felix Baumgartner Was Just Thinking About Coming Home - The New York Times The New York Times U.S. |24 Miles, 4 Minutes and 834 M.P.H., All in One Jump Search Continue reading the main story Photo The capsule hung from a crane just before its release at an airfield in Roswell, N.M. Credit Balazs Gardi/Red Bull Stratos, via European Pressphoto Agency ROSWELL, N.M.

— A man fell to Earth from more than 24 miles high Sunday, becoming the first human to break the sound barrier under his own power — with some help from gravity. The man, Felix Baumgartner , an Austrian daredevil, made the highest and fastest jump in history after ascending by a helium balloon to an altitude of 128,100 feet. As millions around the world experienced the vertiginous view from his capsule’s camera , which showed a round blue world surrounded by the black of space, he stepped off into the void and plummeted for more than four minutes, reaching a maximum speed measured at 833.9 miles per hour, or Mach 1.24. He broke altitude and speed records set half a century ago by Joe Kittinger, now 84, a retired Air Force colonel whose reassuring voice from mission control guided Mr. Baumgartner through tense moments. Engineers considered aborting the mission when Mr. Baumgartner’s faceplate began fogging during the ascent, but he insisted on proceeding and made plans for doing the jump blind.

That proved unnecessary, but a new crisis occurred early in the jump when he began spinning out of control in the thin air of the stratosphere — the same problem that had nearly killed Mr. Kittinger a half-century earlier. But as the atmosphere thickened, Mr. Baumgartner managed to stop the spin and fall smoothly until he opened his parachute about a mile above the ground and landed smoothly in the New Mexico desert. Continue reading the main story “It was harder than I expected,” said Mr. Baumgartner, a 43-year-old former Austrian paratrooper. “Trust me, when you stand up there on top of the world, you become so humble. It’s not about breaking records any more. It’s not about getting scientific data. It’s all about coming home.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Kittinger praised Mr. Baumgartner’s courage for proceeding with the mission and said that he had more than broken a record. “He demonstrated that a man could survive in an extremely high altitude escape situation,” Mr. Kittinger said. “Future astronauts will wear the spacesuit that Felix test-jumped today.” Photo A helium balloon made of 40 acres of ultrathin plastic took Mr.

Baumgartner to an altitude of 128,100 feet. Mr. Baumgartner broke the sound barrier during his jump, reaching a maximum speed of 833.9 miles per hour, or Mach 1.24. Credit Predrag Vuckovic/Red Bull Stratos, via A.P. Mr. Baumgartner was backed by a NASA -style mission control operation at an airfield in Roswell that involved 300 people, including more than 70 engineers, scientists and physicians who have been working for five years on the project, called Red Bull Stratos , after the drink company that has financed it. Besides aiming at records, the engineers and scientists on the Red Bull Stratos team have been gathering and publishing reams of data intended to help future pilots, astronauts and perhaps space tourists survive if they have to bail out. “We’re testing new spacesuits, escape concepts and treatment protocols for pressure loss at extreme altitudes,” said the Red Bull Stratos medical director, Dr. Jonathan Clark, who formerly oversaw the health of space shuttle crews at NASA.

“There are so many things that could go wrong here that we’re pushing the technical envelope.” While building the customized suit and capsule, the team of aerospace veterans had to contend with one crucial uncertainty: What happens to the human body when it breaks the sound barrier? There was also one major unexpected problem for Mr. Baumgartner, known to his fans as Fearless Felix. Although he had no trouble jumping off buildings and bridges, and soaring across the English Channel in a carbon-fiber wing, he found himself suffering panic attacks when forced to spend hours inside the pressurized suit and helmet. At one point in 2010, rather than take an endurance test in it, he went to an airport and fled the United States. With the help of a sports psychologist and other specialists, he learned techniques for dealing with the claustrophobia. One of the techniques Mr. Baumgartner developed was to stay busy throughout the ascent. He conversed steadily with Mr. Kittinger, a former fighter pilot whose deep voice exuded the right stuff as he confidently went through a 40-item checklist rehearsing every move that Mr. Baumgartner would make when it came time to leave the capsule.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story When the actual moment came, Mr. Kittinger said to him, “All right, step up on the exterior step. Start the cameras. And our guardian angel will take care of you now.” Mr. Baumgartner stepped outside, saluted and made the jump right after delivering a message that was mostly garbled by radio static. Afterward, he repeated it: “I know the whole world is watching, and I wish the whole world could see what I see. Sometimes you have to go up really high to understand how small you really are.” Photo Felix Baumgartner landed safely in Roswell, N.M., after breaking altitude and speed records in his jump from a balloon. Credit Balazs Gardi/Red Bull Stratos, via A.P. Engineers forecast that Mr. Baumgartner would reach a supersonic speed of 720 miles an hour by jumping from 120,000 feet, the altitude that they had promised to reach. But all along they had hoped the balloon would go even higher — and lead to an even faster fall, which did occur. As a result, even though he fell farther than Mr.

Kittinger did, his fall took less time: 4 minutes and 20 seconds, which was 16 seconds less than Mr. Kittinger’s. Mr. Baumgartner jumped from an altitude of 128,100 feet and landed in desert about 4,000 above sea level, so the jump from capsule to the ground covered about 23 and a half miles. When Mr. Baumgartner lost control of his body during the early part of the jump, he feared going into a flat spin that would send blood away from the center of his body. “At a certain R.P.M.,” he said afterward, “there’s only one way for blood to leave your body, and that’s through your eyeballs. That means you’re dead. That was what we feared most.” Because of the limited sensation inside his pressurized suit, he said recovering from a spin was much more difficult than during an ordinary dive. “As a sky-diver, you can feel the air on your right shoulder and you immediately know what to do,” he said. “Here you don’t feel the air, so you have to wait until the air pushes you around.

Then you think, ‘Oh, it pushed me around clockwise — that means I have to do this.’ ” Brian Utley of the FAI, the international federation that certifies aerospace records, calculated the height and speed of the jump by independently analyzing data gathered on microchips in Mr. Baumgartner’s suit. After a thorough analysis of the data is made over the next several weeks, Mr. Utley said, the precise official figures might be slightly different, but he had no doubt that Mr. Baumgartner had set a supersonic speed record. Advertisement Continue reading the main story As the balloon rose in the sky, viewers from around the world went to YouTube to watch a live video stream from the capsule and mission control. By the time Mr. Baumgartner made his leap into space, the audience grew to a peak of eight million. Correction: October 14, 2012 Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article referred incorrectly to the inflation of the balloon. It started at 10:45 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, not standard time.

Correction: October 14, 2012 An earlier version of a Web summary on this article said incorrectly that Mr. Baumgartner jumped from a balloon. He jumped from a capsule lifted by a balloon. Brian Stelter contributed reporting from Damascus, Md. A version of this article appears in print on October 15, 2012, on Page A15 of the New York edition with the headline: 24 Miles, 4 Minutes And 834 M.P.H., All in One Jump. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe Skydiver Felix Baumgartner breaks sound barrier - BBC News BBC News Skydiver Felix Baumgartner breaks sound barrier By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent 14 October 2012 From the section Science & Environment comments Close share panel Media captionHighlights from Felix Baumgartner's leap into the record books Austrian Felix Baumgartner has become the first skydiver to go faster than the speed of sound, reaching a maximum velocity of 833.9mph (1,342km/h).

In jumping out of a balloon 128,100ft (24 miles; 39km) above New Mexico, the 43-year-old also smashed the record for the highest ever freefall. He said he almost aborted the dive because his helmet visor fogged up. Media captionFootage from a camera on Baumgartner's chest shows out-of-control spin It took just under 10 minutes for him to descend. Only the last few thousand feet were negotiated by parachute. Once down, he fell to his knees and raised his fists in triumph. Helicopter recovery teams were on hand moments later. "Let me tell you - when I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble. You don't think about breaking records anymore, you don't think about gaining scientific data - the only thing that you want is to come back alive," he said afterwards at a media conference. None of the new marks set by Baumgartner can be classed as "official" until endorsed by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI).

The jump in numbers Freefall distance 119,846ft; 36,529m Max velocity: 833.9mph; 1,342.8km/h; Mach 1.24 Its representative was the first to greet the skydiver on the ground. GPS data recorded on to a microcard in the Austrian's chest pack will form the basis for the height and speed claims that are made. These will be submitted formally through the Aerosport Club of Austria for certification. There was concern early in the dive that Baumgartner was in trouble. He was supposed to get himself into a delta position - head down, arms swept back - as soon as possible after leaving his capsule. But the video showed him tumbling over and over. Eventually, however, he was able to use his great experience, from more than 2,500 career dives, to correct his fall and get into a stable configuration. Even before this drama, it was thought the mission might have to be called off. As he went through last-minute checks inside the capsule, it was found that a heater for his visor was not working. This meant the visor fogged up as he exhaled.

"This is very serious, Joe," he told retired US Air Force Col Joe Kittinger, whose records he was attempting to break, and who was acting as his radio link in mission control at Roswell airport. The team took a calculated risk to proceed after understanding why the problem existed. Baumgartner's efforts have finally toppled records that have stood for more than 50 years. Kittinger set his marks for the highest, farthest, and longest freefall when he leapt from a helium envelope in 1960. His altitude was 102,800ft (31km). (His record for the longest freefall remains intact - he fell for more than four and a half minutes before deploying his chute; Baumgartner was in freefall for four minutes and 20 seconds). Kittinger, now an octogenarian, has been an integral part of Baumgartner's team, and has provided the Austrian with advice and encouragement whenever the younger man has doubted his ability to complete such a daring venture. "Felix did a great job and it was a great honour to work with this brave guy," the elder man said.

The 43-year-old adventurer - best known for leaping off skyscrapers - first discussed seriously the possibility of beating Kittinger's records in 2005. Since then, he has had to battle technical and budgetary challenges to make it happen. What he was proposing was extremely dangerous, even for a man used to those skyscraper stunts. Image caption The Austrian first began to discuss seriously the idea of a record breaking jump in 2005 At Sunday's jump altitude, the air pressure is less than 2% of what it is at sea level, and it is impossible to breathe without an oxygen supply. Others who have tried to break the records have lost their lives in the process. Baumgartner's team built him a special pressurised capsule to protect him on the way up, and for his descent he wore a next generation, full pressure suit made by the same company that prepares the flight suits of astronauts. Although the jump had the appearance of another Baumgartner stunt, his team stressed its high scientific relevance.

The researchers on the Red Bull Stratos project say it has already provided invaluable data for the development of high-performance, high-altitude parachute systems, and that the lessons learned will inform the development of new ideas for emergency evacuation from vehicles, such as spacecraft, passing through the stratosphere. Nasa and its spacecraft manufacturers have asked to be kept informed. Image caption Kittinger (L) was the only person Baumgartner wanted to hear on the radio during the mission "Part of this programme was to show high-altitude egress, passing through Mach and a successful re-entry back [to subsonic speed], because our belief scientifically is that's going to benefit future private space programmes or high-altitude pilots; and Felix proved that today," said Art Thompson, the team principal. In getting to 128,100ft (above sea level; Roswell elevation 3,670ft/1,120m), Baumgartner exceeded the altitude for the highest ever manned balloon flight achieved by Victor Prather and Malcolm Ross, who ascended to 113,720ft (35km) in 1961.

However, the FAI rules, state that to claim an official ballooning record, a balloonist must also bring the envelope down and therefore the Austrian's altitude will forever remain just an unofficial mark. A BBC/National Geographic documentary is being made about the project. This will probably air first in the UK and in the US in November, and in other territories sometime soon after. Image caption The giant helium balloon carrying Baumgartner's capsule was released early morning local time in Roswell Austrian daredevil breaks sound barrier with record skydive - The Globe and Mail World Pilot Felix Baumgartner of Austria and Technical Project Director Art Thompson of the U.S. celebrate after Baumgartner successfully completed the final manned flight for Red Bull Stratos in Roswell, New Mexico in this October 14, 2012 handout photo. Baumgartner was attempting to break a 52-year-old record by skydiving from 23 miles (37 km). He also attempted to break the sound barrier while in freefall. (Joerg Mitter/Reuters) Pilot Felix Baumgartner of Austria and Technical Project Director Art Thompson of the U.S.

celebrate after Baumgartner successfully completed the final manned flight for Red Bull Stratos in Roswell, New Mexico in this October 14, 2012 handout photo. Baumgartner was attempting to break a 52-year-old record by skydiving from 23 miles (37 km). He also attempted to break the sound barrier while in freefall. (Joerg Mitter/Reuters) Skydiver survives 24-mile high jump, breaks sound barrier, officials say | Fox News Skydiver survives 24-mile high jump, breaks sound barrier, officials say Published October 14, 2012 Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Email Print ROSWELL, N.M. – Extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner landed gracefully on Earth after a 24-mile jump Sunday from the stratosphere in a daring, dramatic feat that officials said made him the first skydiver to fall faster than the speed of sound. Baumgartner came down safely in the eastern New Mexico desert about nine minutes after jumping from his capsule 128,100 feet, or roughly 24 miles, above Earth.

He lifted his arms in victory, sending off loud cheers from jubilant onlookers and friends inside the mission's control center in Roswell, N.M. "When I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble, you do not think about of breaking records anymore, you do not think of about gaining scientific data. The only thing you want is to come back alive," he said after the jump. Brian Utley, a jump observer from the International Federation of Sports Aviation, said preliminary figures show Baumgartner reached a maximum speed of 833.9 mph. That amounts to Mach 1.24, which is faster than the speed of sound. No one has ever reached that speed wearing only a high-tech suit. Baumgartner says that traveling faster than sound is "hard to describe because you don't feel it." With no reference points, "you don't know how fast you travel," he told reporters. More On This... Et tu, Brute? Spot where Julius Caesar was stabbed found "Sometimes we have to get really high to see how small we are," he said. The altitude he leapt from also marked the highest-ever for a skydiver.

Organizers said the descent lasted just over nine minutes, about half of it in free fall. Utley said he traveled 119, 846 feet in free fall. Three hours earlier, Baumgartner, known as "Fearless Felix," had taken off in a pressurized capsule carried by a 55-story ultra-thin helium balloon. After an at-times tense ascent, which included concerns about how well his facial shield was working, the 43-year-old former military parachutist completed a final safety check-list with mission control. As he exited his capsule from high above Earth, he flashed a thumbs-up sign, well aware that the feat was being shown on a live-stream on the Internet. During the ensuing jump -- from more than three times the height of the average cruising altitude for jetliners -- Baumgartner was expected to hit a speed of 690 mph. He was believed to have reached speeds that exceeded 700 mph. Any contact with the capsule on his exit could have torn his pressurized suit, a rip that could expose him to a lack of oxygen and temperatures as low as minus-70 degrees. That could have caused lethal bubbles to form in his bodily fluids.

But none of that happened. He activated his parachute as he neared Earth, gently gliding into the desert east of Roswell and landing without any apparent difficulty. The images triggered another loud cheer from onlookers at mission control, among them his mother, Eva Baumgartner, who was overcome with emotion, crying. He then was taken by helicopter to meet fellow members of his team, whom he hugged in celebration. Coincidentally, Baumgartner's attempted feat also marked the 65th anniversary of U.S. test pilot Chuck Yeager successful attempt to become the first man to officially break the sound barrier aboard an airplane. At Baumgartner's insistence, some 30 cameras recorded the event Sunday. Shortly after launch, screens at mission control showed the capsule as it began rising high above the New Mexico desert, with cheers erupting from organizers. Baumgartner could be seen on video, calmly checking instruments inside the capsule. Baumgartner's team included Joe Kittinger, who first attempted to break the sound barrier from 19.5 miles up in 1960, reaching speeds of 614 mph.

With Kittinger inside mission control Sunday, the two men could be heard going over technical details during the ascension. "Our guardian angel will take care of you," Kittinger radioed to Baumgartner around the 100,000-foot mark, and noted that it was getting "really serious" now. An hour into the flight, Baumgartner had ascended more than 63,000 feet and had gone through a trial run of the jump sequence that will send him plummeting toward Earth. Ballast was dropped to speed up the ascent. Kittinger told him, "Everything is in the green. Doing great." As Baumgartner ascended in the balloon, so did the number of viewers watching on YouTube. Nearly 7.3 million watched as he sat on the edge of the capsule moments before jumping. After he landed, Red Bull posted a picture of Baumgartner on his knees on the ground to Facebook, generating nearly 216,000 likes, 10,000 comments and more than 29,000 shares in less than 40 minutes.

On Twitter, half the worldwide trending topics had something to do with the jump, pushing past seven NFL football games. Among the tweets was one from NASA: "Congratulations to Felix Baumgartner and RedBull Stratos on record-breaking leap from the edge of space!" This attempt marked the end of a five-year road for Baumgartner, a record-setting high-altitude jumper. He already made two preparation jumps in the area, one from 15 miles high and another from 18 miles high. It also was the end of his extreme altitude jumping career; he has promised this will be his final jump. Baumgartner has said he plans to settle down with his girlfriend and fly helicopters on mountain rescue and firefighting missions in the U.S. and Austria. One giant leap for a skydiver - Photo 1 - Pictures - CBS News One giant leap for a skydiver Next On October 14, 2012 - the 65th anniversary of test pilot Chuck Yeager's successful attempt to become the first man to officially break the sound barrier aboard an airplane - extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner attempted to become the first human to break the sound barrier during a high-altitude free-fall parachute jump.

Credit: Red Bull Stratos Baumgartner, known as "Fearless Felix," boards his pressurized capsule, to be carried by a 55-story ultra-thin helium balloon from the launch pad in Roswell, N.M. Credit: Red Bull Stratos Inflating the balloon at Roswell, N.M. Attempts to launch earlier in the month were scuttled by high-altitude winds. Credit: CBS News A view of Felix Baumgartner boarding the capsule. Credit: CBS News Felix Baumgartner aboard the capsule. His team included Joe Kittinger, who first attempted to break the sound barrier from 19.5 miles up in 1960, reaching speed of 614 mph. With Kittinger inside mission control Sunday, the two men could be heard going over technical details as the launch began. Credit: CBS News The 3,000-lb. capsule is prepared for lift-off. Credit: CBS News A capsule carrying Felix Baumgartner rose from the desert of New Mexico early Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012, beginning a three-hour ascent into the stratosphere.

Credit: CBS News The capsule and attached helium balloon carrying Felix Baumgartner lifts off as he attempts to break the speed of sound with his own body by jumping from a space capsule Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012, in Roswell, N.M. If all goes well and he survives the jump, NASA could certify a new generation of spacesuits for protecting astronauts and provide an escape option from spacecraft at 120,000 feet. Credit: AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin Cheers erupted from mission organizers as the capsule rose high above the New Mexico desert. Credit: CBS News Felix Baumgartner's mother Ava Baumgartner, middle, watches with other family members and friends as his capsule lifts off as he attempts to break the speed of sound with his own body by jumping from a space capsule lifted by a helium balloon, Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012, in Roswell, N.M. Credit: AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin A view from Felix Baumgartner's capsule as it rises into the stratosphere, Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012. Credit: CBS News Felix Baumgartner inside his capsule.

At his insistence, some 30 cameras recorded the event. While it had been pegged as a live broadcast streamed online, it was actually under a 20-second delay. Credit: CBS News An hour into the flight, Baumgartner had ascended more than 63,000 feet and had gone through a trial run of the jump sequence that will send him plummeting toward Earth. Ballast was dropped to speed up the ascent. Kittinger told him, "Everything is in the green. Doing great." Credit: CBS News This attempt marked the end of a five-year road for Baumgartner, a record-setting high-altitude jumper. He already made two preparation jumps in the area - one in March from 15 miles high and one in July from 18 miles high. It will also be the end of his extreme altitude jumping career; he has promised this will be his final jump.

Credit: CBS News Jumping from more than three times the height of the average cruising altitude for jetliners, Baumgartner's expected to hit a speed of 690 mph or more before he activates his parachute at 9,500 feet above sea level, or about 5,000 feet above the ground in southeastern New Mexico. The total jump would take about 10 minutes. Credit: CBS News The view form Earth's stratosphere. Credit: CBS News Felix Baumgartner about to jump from his capsule about 24 miles above the Earth Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012. Credit: CBS News Felix Baumgartner jumps from his capsule about 24 miles above the Earth Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012. Credit: CBS News Baumgartner broke the sound barrier, with preliminary figures showing he reached a maximum speed of 833.9 mph, or Mach 1.24. Baumgartner activated his parachute at 9,500 feet above sea level, or about 5,000 feet above the ground in southeastern New Mexico.

Credit: CBS News With parachute deployed, Felix Baumgartner descended to the desert of New Mexico. Credit: CBS News Felix Baumgartner completing his 24-mile jump. Credit: CBS News Felix Baumgartner landed safely on Earth after a 24-mile jump from the stratosphere in a dramatic, daring feat that also marked the world's first supersonic skydive. Baumgartner came down in the eastern New Mexico desert minutes after jumping from his capsule 128,000 feet, or 24 miles, above Earth. By CBSNews.com senior editor David Morgan; The Associated Press contributed to this report. Credit: CBS News Felix Baumgartner’s 23-Mile Freefall Attempt: By the Numbers | TIME.com Felix Baumgartner’s 23-Mile Freefall Attempt: By the Numbers Send to Kindle Red Bull Content Pool / AFP / Getty Images Pilot Felix Baumgartner of Austria stands in his trailer during the preparation for the final manned flight of Red Bull Stratos in Roswell, N.M., on Oct. 6, 2012. Related Follow @TIMENewsfeed Keep your eye on the edge of space Tuesday morning — a human will be falling from it.

In an attempt to break a 52-year-old record, Felix Baumgartner will step off of a balloon 23 miles above the Earth and free-fall through the atmosphere. Baumgartner, an Austrian skydiver, BASE jumper and all-around daredevil, has partnered with Red Bull in the Stratos project, which is attempting to net him a number of world records. The planning process has been a seven-year endeavor, filled with scientific and technological details flying from all angles. So we thought we’d crunch the numbers. -90 degrees Fahrenheit: Minimum air temperature Baumgartner’s specially-designed pressurized spacesuit can withstand. -10 degrees Fahrenheit: Air temperature predicted 23 miles up as Baumgartner steps out of his capsule. Less than 1%: Air pressure at the altitude of Baumgartner’s jump, as a percentage of that at sea level. 55 stories: Height of the 30-million-cubic-foot helium balloon that will hoist Baumgartner and his 2,900-pound protective capsule into space. 2: Number of practice runs before Tuesday’s record-breaking attempt.

His first practice fall was from 71,000 feet in March 2012, and his second was from 97,000 feet in July. (PHOTOS: From the Edge of Space: Felix Baumgartner Prepares for a Death-Defying Dive ) 3: Number of cameras attached to Baumgartner’s suit to record his descent. He’ll have one on each thigh and one on his chest pack. 5: Number of records Baumgartner’s jump will break if successful. He’s aiming to be the first human to ever break the sound barrier in free-fall and to claim the records for highest free-fall altitude, highest manned balloon flight and longest free-fall. His jump platform is believed to be the largest manned balloon in history. 5 minutes and 35 seconds: Amount of time Baumgartner is expected to free-fall. 6:00 a.m. Mountain time: Time on Tuesday when the man known as “Fearless Felix” will drop from his capsule at the edge of space over Roswell, New Mexico . 6 mph: Maximum wind speed for a safe launch.

The initial launch was delayed one day, until Tuesday, because of a cold front bringing strong winds to the drop site. 12 lbs.: Weight of Baumgartner’s chest pack, which contains all of his monitoring and tracking systems. 20 minutes: Maximum amount of time he’ll spend dropping through the atmosphere. He’ll spend a majority of that time – as many as 15 minutes – slowly descending to earth after opening his parachute. (WATCH: 138 Skydivers Break Vertical Formation World Record, and It’s Awesome ) 34 seconds: The time it will take him to go from 0 to 690 mph (Mach 1, the speed of sound). Air Force Col. Joe Kittinger, the current height and speed record holder, only made it to 614 mph during his jump 52 years ago from 102,900 feet. Baumgartner would be the first person to break the sound barrier if he manages to do so during his jump. 43: The age of Baumgartner, a native of Salzburg, Austria . 220 rpm: Rate of spin Baumgartner could reach while falling.

Tests have shown that a human spinning at 140 rpm can be harmful and quite possibly fatal. 260 lbs.: Complete weight of Baumgartner’s pressurized space suit. 120,000 feet: The atmospheric height, laying right at the edge of space, from which Baumgartner will start his BASE jump. 5,000 feet: The altitude at which Baumgartner will deploy his parachute, after 5½ minutes (and 115,000 feet) of free-fall. (MORE: How Do You Document a Freefall From 120,000 Feet Up? ) Your Guess Is As Good As Ours: Cost of the Red Bull Stratos project, which has required more than seven years of development, two practice runs, and hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on developing Baumgartner’s helium balloon and safety equipment. 0: Number of jumps he’ll perform after this one. Baumgartner says he plans to settle down with his girlfriend after this, limiting his daredevil skills to flying helicopters on rescue and firefighting missions in the U.S. and his native Austria.

Felix Baumgartner's supersonic freefall from 128k' - Mission Highlights - YouTube Felix Baumgartner's supersonic freefall from 128k' - Mission Highlights Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Oct 14, 2012 » Jump into more adrenaline filled aerial action: After flying to an altitude of 39,045 meters (128,100 feet) in a helium-filled balloon, Felix Baumgartner completed a record breaking jump for the ages from the edge of space, exactly 65 years after Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier flying in an experimental rocket-powered airplane.

Felix reached a maximum of speed of 1,357.6 km/h or 843.6 mph(Mach 1.25) through the near vacuum of the stratosphere before being slowed by the atmosphere later during his 4:20 minute long freefall. The 43-year-old Austrian skydiving expert also broke two other world records (highest freefall, highest manned balloon flight), leaving the one for the longest freefall to project mentor Col. Joe Kittinger.

Question: Who, in Autumn 2012, broke the sound barrier in free fall from a balloon, at an altitude of 23 miles?
Answer: FELIX BAUMGARTNER